


The Arena

by believe_in_alderaan



Series: JFO Extended Drama [4]
Category: Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Cal kestis whump, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Star Wars - Freeform, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21528697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/believe_in_alderaan/pseuds/believe_in_alderaan
Summary: At the center of the arena, Cal was forced to his knees. He was too weak to fight back, and knew that even if he tried, he was outnumbered. He was looking down at his hands and watched a small drop of blood land on his palm. Rough hands grabbed his hair and forced him to look up, where a large hologram was looming over him.“Ugh FINALLY he ariiiiives!” a booming voice filled the stadium. “We had action on how long it would take you to get here.”Cal was brought to his feet, still facing the large hologram. “And who are you?” he spat.---Drawing out the happenings when Cal is faced with a bounty hunter on Zeffo, and eventually brought to the arena at Ordo Eris.
Series: JFO Extended Drama [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551049
Comments: 4
Kudos: 124





	The Arena

**Author's Note:**

> Needs more drama in the arena, I'd say. Needed more... whump.

Cal tried to run away from the bounty hunter. Zeffo was already an annoying planet to navigate, and now he was trapped in some sort of shield and trying to defend himself against a maniac.

“Ha! Got ya!” the man growled after landing a shot at Cal’s shoulder. The hit stung, but Cal kept his focus. A burst of flames from the man’s flamethrower made Cal lose his balance.

“Who are you?!” Cal yelled angrily, deflecting another shot. The man didn’t answer. Cal tried to search his appearance for any familiar sign, but he couldn’t place him. All he could tell was that this man had nothing to do with the empire, not that it was any comfort.

Cal made another run to escape, but was forced back by the field the hunter had rigged. He swung around and dodged another blow from the flame thrower. He then force-pushed the man as far away from him as possible.

With a devious smirk, the bounty hunter raised his wrist and shot a stinging binding around Cal’s arms, causing him to drop his saber. “Auuugh!!” Cal growled through his teeth, the electric pulses bringing him to his knees. He looked up and saw the butt of a blaster at his face. Then, darkness.

\---

The ground was ice cold. Cal shivered, waiting for his head to stop spinning before opening his eyes. He tasted blood. His mind was foggy as he tried to piece together what had happened. The air around him felt stale and cold, and his shoulder ached angrily from the blaster bolt that had grazed it.

Slowly he raised his head and opened his eyes. Everything was blurry at first, and even as things focused, Cal had no idea what he was looking at. He fully sat up and looked around.

“BD… where are we…” he groaned. He was met with silence. Panic began to creep into his heart. “BD-1?” He stood frantically and whipped around, searching every corner of the small room he had woken up in. “Little buddy??” His calls became more desperate. Fear gripped him as he slowly realized he was completely and utterly alone. “Where are you?” He reached for his lightsaber. Nothing.

Cal was in full panic mode now. He searched the room once more. “BD?” he croaked. He began force-pulling panels off the walls, searching for a way out of his prison. He knew he had limited time to escape. Whomever had brought him here could come back at any time.

If I had my lightsaber, I could just cut my way out, Cal thought bitterly. He pulled at another panel revealing a bundle of wires. Behind him he found the panel that controlled the door to his cell. Carefully he selected what wires he knew would be powered and pulled them across the room to plug them into the socket. Sure enough, the door shorted out and opened. Cal breathed a sigh of relief. Being a scrapper had had its benefits.

Around him were more cells, most occupied with creatures from different planets. Some were obviously dead. Cal swallowed hard as he made his way, peering into each cell in search of his droid companion.

One cell contained a person. Cal approached cautiously “Hey,” he half-whispered. “Someone in there?”

“HI CHUBA DA NAGO?” the figure demanded.

Cal didn’t understand, but pressed on. “Where are we?” he asked carefully.

“Hopa!? Sorc Tormo KILLEE uba, shag poodoo!” The angered man lashed out and caught Cal by the collar, slamming his face against the bars with a loud CLANG. “Stuta karkina tonta! BWAHAHAA!”

Cal instinctively force-pushed the man back. He hit the wall with a crunch. Not waiting to see if he’d actually hurt the guy, Cal ran down the damp corridor. His steps echoed awkwardly off of the rock and metal walls. Cal feared he’d be noticed, but his urgency kept him going. He approached another cell. A familiar chirp reached his ears.

“BD-1, is that you?” Cal yelped in relief. His droid beeped back happily. “I found you! Are you okay? Let’s get you out of there!”

Cal searched around the edges of the door for something to pull at, but found nothing. He backed up a bit and looked up, noticing a platform going to a chute that lead back into the cell that BD-1 was stuck in. Cal forced a wireconnection out of the wall to use as a rope to swing up to the platform. He then dropped down and rushed over to BD-1.

“Hey! Oh, I’m happy to see you too,” Cal put his hands on BD’s head and searched him over, making sure he was in one piece. He noticed a restraining bolt, which explained why BD wasn’t moving from where he stood. “Let’s get his off you. Those jerks.” Cal pulled one of his tools from his belt and managed to pry off the bolt with no damage to his friend.

“Boop boop!” BD chirped happily. He hopped on to Cal’s back. Cal looked back at him fondly. The tightness in his chest was starting to loosen. Now he just needed to locate his lightsaber and a way out of wherever he was.

BD-1 managed to slice open the cell door. Cal cautiously stepped out. “Nobody’s come down yet. I’m starting to wonder if anybody is even around,” he breathed. He set out looking for an exit. His teeth were chattering again and he realized he was starving. How long was he unconscious?

Rounding a corner, he spotted an elevator. “Well, up is better than down at this point,” he commented. BD chirped in agreement. They stepped on to the platform and it began to rise. A low rumble from above began to sound more and more like music. “Well, sounds like somebody’s home after all.”

Cal stepped off the lift. The music that greeted him was familiar. Suddenly he was assaulted from both sides and his wrists were forced into tight rusty binders. “What the..” His assailants pushed him out toward an open arena, where deafening cheers made Cal’s heart pound in his throat. What is this? Cal pushed back toward one of his masked captors. The man struck back sharply on his head with the butt of a knife. A small trickle of blood fell down the left side of his face.

At the center of the arena, Cal was forced to his knees. He was too weak to fight back, and knew that even if he tried, he was outnumbered. He was looking down at his hands and watched a small drop of blood land on his palm. Rough hands grabbed his hair and forced him to look up, where a large hologram was looming over him.

“Ugh FINALLY he ariiiiives!” a booming voice filled the stadium. “We had action on how long it would take you to get here.”

Cal was brought to his feet, still facing the large hologram. “And who are you?” he spat.

“Hahahaaa!” the man in the hologram raised his arms, playing up the showman vibes. “I’m Sorc Tormo, baby! I’m the boss of this operation!” He gestured his arms wide toward the audience, which were protected by laser gates. “You have Greezy Four-Arms to thank for bringing us together.”

The men holding Cal released their grip. His knees felt weak, but he remained standing, looking up at his captor. “I will thank him as soon as I get out of here,” he yelled.

“We have a special challenger for you tonight,” Sorc continued to the audience. “An enforcer from a bygone era. A jedi!” His arms were raised once more as the crowd went crazy. “Let’s see what he’s got!”

Cal’s wrists were released from their bindings. The two masked guards skulked away, leaving Cal standing in the arena alone. The noise was deafening and he had to squint in the bright lights. He was in big, big trouble.

“Oh, somebody get baby his toy.” Cal knew what that meant, and raised his arm. Sure enough, his saber was thrown into his midst. He called it to him with the force, gaining strength from holding it once more. BD squealed with joy.

“You want a show?” Cal growled as he pushed away his doubts. “I’ll give you a show.”

A large door opened to his left. A large three-eyed creature, one Cal had encountered already back on Bogano, lumbered toward him. This creature had obviously been starved, and was making its move toward Cal. He dodged a few strikes, but the creature caught his arm. Teeth found flesh, and Cal cried out in pain. He brought his other arm around and ran his blade through the creature’s throat.

“I smell blood and MONEYYY” Sorc Tormo’s voice bounced off the walls. “Tonight we celebrate those fallen challengers of the past and the great sacrifice they’ve made… to make us all... RICH.”

Cal ignored him and focused on the creatures that were spilling from new corridors around the arena. Some nasty bugs were closing in on him, and he sliced them with ease. His fatigue was nagging at the back of his consciousness, but adrenaline intervened and kept him alert. His injured arm was now soaked with blood and sweat.

A large behemoth of a creature charged from the rear of the arena. Cal dodged and hid behind one of the few raised platforms on the floor. His ears were ringing and he was panting hard, his chest on fire. BD whirred behind him, encouraging him to keep going. He jumped to the top of the platform before diving at the creature with a deadly blow. Creature after creature was sent at him and he ended them all, though it felt almost too easy.

Cal stood in the center of the ring, his chest heaving. He still hadn’t figured out how he was going to actually get out of this mess, and he was losing energy fast. His stomach twisted and growled in protest.

“The best is yet to come,” Sorc Tormo sang. “I believe you know our next challengers… the Haxion Brood is gunning for ya!”

The bounty hunter that had taken him down on Zeffo flew into the ring via jet pack. Cal furrowed his brow, anger pulsing. He motioned to BD for a stim vial, hoping the boost would give him what he needed to stay alive and also help the bleeding.

The hunter released his flamethrower toward Cal. He dodged as best he could, but still felt a slight singe on his skin. “Why you running?” the man howled, followed by a laugh. “How do you like this?” Cal turned just in time to see a rocket launcher pointed at him. He dove out of the way, the blast hitting the ground near him. He flew several feet and landed on the hard ground, the wind knocked out of him.

The world was spinning again. I can’t do this, Cal thought helplessly. He rolled over and began to vomit up bile, the only thing left in his stomach. BD watched helplessly as Cal’s face lost most of its color. He was on his knees, looking up at his enemy.

The huntsman was approaching, blaster raised. Cal feebly raised his saber and deflected the first shot, and the second, but the third managed to strike his thigh.

“AUGH,” Cal cried out and rolled backward, as far away as he could manage to get. He shakily got to his feet, then lunged at the attacker, fire in his eyes. He managed to slice the man’s jet pack on one side, sending him flying into the side of the wall. He landed in an unmoving heap.

Cal fell to his knees, deaf to the arena’s raucous chants and jeers. His hands were shaking, still holding up his lightsaber in defence. He waited, but Sorc Tormo seemed distracted.

“What do you mean INCOMING?”

A loud crash took over the crowd’s cheers. Spectators began running and screaming as a familiar ship touched down near Cal.

“It’s the Mantis!” Sorc shrieked. “BLAST IT!”

Cal stumbled, catching himself hard on one knee, before scrambling to the now waiting Mantis. Cere stood at the doorway, waiting for him, blaster in hand. He breathlessly climbed the ramp and collapsed just inside the door. “I will chase you across the galaxy if I have to!” was the last thing Cal heard before closing his eyes.

Cere and Greez maneuvered the ship out of the system and well out of harm’s way. Cere was furious at Greez and the danger he had put Cal in. Greez refused to make eye contact with her. Once the ship was steady, Cere went to check on the young Jedi.

Cal was out cold, his droid by his side. Cere knew he’d been through hell, and hoped it wouldn’t prove to be a huge setback for the mission. Cal had been missing for almost a full rotation. It was enough time for Cere to sincerely worry that they’d never see him again.

Cal stirred slightly, a small moan escaping his lips. He looked up at Cere with a pained expression. “Sorry, I uhh…”

Cere smiled at him. “No, it’s okay. I’m glad we found you. Can you stand?”

Cal nodded and sat up. Cere held one of his arms and steadied him. “You need rest. I…”

“No,” Cal cut her off. He pulled his arm away and slowly made his way to the front of the ship toward Greez. Cere knew that Cal felt betrayed, and she didn’t blame him one bit.

“Hey Greez,” Cal croaked. “You’re famous down there.”

Greez stiffened and turned to Cal. “Yeah they’re and… ugly group huh?” he stammered. “They smell like used droid oil heh heh… at least you’re okay.”

Cal didn’t respond. He looked to Cere standing in the doorway, who responded for him. “A complication we could have avoided,” she replied slowly.

Cal ignored both of them and carefully found his way to the couch. He pulled at his now-torn poncho until a strip long and wide enough was in his hand. He began binding his injured arm.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to read the other fics in the series! They are in no particular order.


End file.
